Key Takeaways
- A survey result indicates Google Pixel phones have most issues with third-party launchers due to underlying bugs in major Android updates.
- Xiaomi ranks second last because it disables navigation gestures with custom launchers, making it a poor choice for launcher enthusiasts.
- Motorola and Samsung devices are recommended for custom launcher users, as they reported the fewest issues in the survey.
Google and other Android manufacturers have played a big role in the declining popularity of third-party launchers. On most popular Android phones, using a third-party launcher breaks navigation or causes weird animation glitches. In September this year, many popular custom Android launcher developers teamed up to voice their frustration to Google. As a part of this, they conducted a survey, asking users about their experience with a custom launcher on their Android phones. Two months later, the survey results are in, and they might surprise you.
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Interestingly, Pixel devices ranked at the bottom of the list (via Smart launcher), with the majority of survey participants reporting issues when using third-party launchers on their phones. The team behind Smart Launcher has an interesting theory about the Pixel’s poor showing.
Major Android updates first land on Pixel phones, and they might have underlying bugs that cause issues with a custom launcher. For example, a known bug in Android 15 causes third-party launchers to freeze and hang on Pixel phones. Nonetheless, this does not change the fact that Google has not done enough in recent years to support the third-party launcher community, giving them stepfatherly treatment.
This is also something you must keep in mind if you prefer using a third-party launcher.
Xiaomi devices came in second from the bottom, which is understandable since the company disables navigation gestures when a custom launcher is used. It is the worst offender of the lot, as no other Android manufacturer does this.
Stick to devices from Samsung, Motorola, or Nothing if you like custom launchers
Surprisingly, most Motorola users reported facing no issues with a custom launcher on their device, followed by Samsung. Nothing devices topped the survey, with most users only facing “minor issues.” So, if using a custom Android launcher is important for you, stick to devices from these manufacturers in the future.
The Smart Launcher team did not reveal how many users participated in the survey, except for mentioning on X that they did not list brands with fewer than 100 participants. Given that all popular custom launchers widely shared the survey, at least a few hundred users from each major Android manufacturer must have responded.